Sources

Sources below were accessed during research on 16 October 2026. Publication, observation or transaction dates are stated beside the relevant figures above. URLs are provided as a source register.

Market size, adoption and supplier scale

1. MarketsandMarkets — GEO market estimate and forecast: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/generative-engine-optimization-geo-market-265868816.html
2. Ramp — AEO category and methodology: https://ramp.com/vendors/categories/aeo
3. Ramp — directory dataset description: https://ramp.com/vendors
4. Ramp — Profound: https://ramp.com/vendors/profound
5. Ramp — Peec AI: https://ramp.com/vendors/peec-ai
6. Ramp — AirOps: https://ramp.com/vendors/airops
7. Ramp — Clearscope: https://ramp.com/vendors/clearscope
8. Ramp — Scrunch AI: https://ramp.com/vendors/scrunch-ai

Discovery and buyer behaviour

9. Similarweb — AI search statistics: https://aisearch.similarweb.com/blog/gen-ai-stats/
10. Adobe — US retail AI traffic, 16 April 2026: https://business.adobe.com/blog/ai-traffic-surge-retail-sites-not-machine-readable
11. 6sense — B2B buyer research guide, 25 November 2025: https://6sense.com/guides/how-genai-and-llms-are-changing-b2b-buyer-research-and-how-to-respond/
12. Pew Research Center — Google AI-summary browsing study, 22 July 2025: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/

Pricing and measurement documentation

13. OtterlyAI pricing: https://otterly.ai/pricing/
14. Scrunch pricing: https://scrunch.com/pricing
15. Semrush AI Visibility pricing: https://www.semrush.com/pricing/ai/
16. Semrush AI Visibility documentation: https://www.semrush.com/kb/1493-ai-visibility-toolkit
17. Ahrefs Brand Radar pricing and scope: https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/11064852-what-is-brand-radar-and-how-to-use-it
18. Ahrefs custom prompt checks: https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/13192745-how-to-set-up-custom-prompts-to-track-brand-visibility-in-ai-assistants
19. Ahrefs AI-adjusted volume methodology: https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/16755865-what-is-ai-adjusted-volume-and-how-is-it-calculated
20. Profound pricing: https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing
21. Peec AI pricing: https://peec.ai/pricing
22. WebFX AI SEO pricing: https://www.webfx.com/seo/pricing/ai-seo/
23. Omniscient Digital — own full-service pricing within agency comparison: https://beomniscient.com/blog/best-ai-marketing-agencies/
24. First Page Sage — supplier-produced pricing report, 7 October 2026: https://firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/geo-aeo-pricing-statistics

Financing, acquisitions and activity

25. Profound Series D, 15 September 2026: https://www.tryprofound.com/newsroom/profound-raises-usd180m-series-d-at-usd1-8b-valuation-to-build-the-ai-platform-for-marketing-teams
26. Profound Series C, 24 February 2026: https://www.tryprofound.com/newsroom/profound-raises-series-c-at-1b-valuation-to-lead-a-new-category-of-marketing
27. Peec AI Series A, 18 November 2025: https://peec.ai/blog/we-raised-21m-series-a-to-help-brands-win-in-ai-search
28. AirOps Series B, 14 November 2025: https://www.airops.com/blog/series-b
29. Adobe SEC filing — Semrush acquisition consideration: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/796343/000079634326000156/adbe-20260828.htm
30. Sitecore — Scrunch acquisition, 3 June 2026: https://www.sitecore.com/company/newsroom/press-releases/2026/06/sitecore-acquires-scrunch-to-help-brands-influence-discovery--and-buying-decisions
31. Profound newsroom — enterprise partnership announcement listing: https://www.tryprofound.com/newsroom
32. Profound employer advert — AI Strategist, Business: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Profound/9e401d6d-7a8c-4e35-afbe-cdf0e2e80b3c/